The Amulet

It was raining.

Correction, it was pouring.

The small droplets of water seemed to be laying the drums on
the roof of our poor village house. I
only prayed that the ceiling wouldn’t flood as it had last rainy season. With father gone, I would be left to myself to
fix it.

Sighing, I lit another candle.

Outside the wind rattled the shutters, causing me to worry
even more about the storm. My fingers
went to play with the amulet around my neck, a nervous habit. The smooth cobalt blue stone rested on my
chest, the size of a large pebble. It
had been a gift from my father before he left earlier this morning for another
one of his adventures. The thought of my
father’s frantic state led to the tightening of my grip around the amulet.

“Hold onto this for me Adelaide.” He told me, his voice unusually worried. “You must keep it hidden. It is of great value and very dangerous if in
the wrong hands.” My father took the
thin black threads that held the stone and tied them around my neck. “Never let anyone now that you have it.”

My brows furrowed in confusion. He did not normally give me any of his
trinkets. My father constantly traveled
in search of ancient and powerful artifacts.
He often went to different lands, even worlds. Of course, his constant adventures led to our
small stone cabin being filled to the ceiling with such artifacts. Books were stacked high to the ceiling with
loose papers tucked inside, holding information on thousands of items that were
of inconsiderable value. It was not
strange for my father to bring back these artifacts. Usually his adventures were under the command
of Xavier, the king of our village, who wanted to use the items as a way to
decorate his numerous halls or control his citizens even more. He was a callous and cruel man, but it was
his payments that kept us living comfortably.
It was not uncommon for my father to return from a journey, only to be
sent on another one the next day.

However, it was uncommon for my father to give me one of his
precious tokens. Only on my birthdays
would he give me such grand gifts, never on such a rarity. It was this small fact and my father’s
strange attitude which sent me into a panic.

“It’s only a stone right father? What could make it so dangerous?” Suddenly I
was frightened to be wearing the new jewel.

“I don’t have time to explain now. I must hurry before Xavier sends his men
here.” My eyes widened at the mention of
the Blue Jays, Xavier’s loyal and ferocious soldiers. They terrorized the citizens of our village
and constantly harassed the women. I was
fortunate enough to be spared their presence due to my father’s position to
King Xavier. Now I was afraid of no
longer having that protection.

“Why would the Blue Jays come here? Father, you must explain this to me!” I reached out to grab his arm but my father
was already taking off down the stairs.
Rushing after him, I felt the skirt of my long dress swishing between my
legs.

In our small living room my father stood, throwing item
after item into his large overnight bag.
In a frantic state he traveled across the room. Occasionally he would venture into the kitchen
to grab supplies as if he were going on another of his journeys. The casual nature of his actions only worried
me more.

“Father, what is going on here? How could one stone be so important to King
Xavier? Surely he has plenty in his
castle!” I yelled, finally reaching the
bottom of the stairs.

After strapping his bag closed, my father turned to me, love
in his eyes. His hand went to cup my
cheek in affection. “It is no ordinary
stone my darling Adelaide. If it was in
King Xavier’s hands then our world would fall into chaos. Other worlds as well. That is why you must protect it.” With that he grabbed his bag and rushed out
the door into the beginnings of a storm.

“But what does it do?” I called after him, following him to
the door. Beside our house my father
hoisted himself and the bag onto his horse.
Leading the horse away from his stationary position and out into the
road, my father replied.

“The less you know the better my daughter. Be safe.
I love you.” With those final
words my father galloped off down the gravel road that led to the forest. Not thinking rationally, I ran out into the
middle of the road, wanting so desperately to stop him. However I stood no chance against the speed
of his horse. Just as he disappeared
into the trees a thunder clap sounded in the sky. Soon following came the first drops of rain,
signaling me to return to the safety of the cabin.

Once back inside I had begun to board up the stone cabin,
closing and locking every entry way into our home.

My lips pursed at the memory as I returned to the
present. My fingers were still holding
onto the stone which was somehow still shining in the darkness of the
night. Sighing, I went upstairs to light
a few more candles so as not to get lost in the dark. The stairway was dark as I climbed up to the
second story. As I reached the landing I
saw two doorways, the one on the left to leading to my father’s while the one
to the right led to my own. Gazing
dishearteningly at his door I walked to my own.
Stepping inside I lit a candle that sat by the lone window in the
room. Out of habit I began to straighten
the few things which were out of place.
As I was putting a dress away I came across an old bag which my father
had given me for my birthday years ago.
That year he had promised to take me on one of his adventures. It was a decently sized suitcase made of deep
black leather and had silver handles.
Opening the clasp, I realized there was a small satchel inside as
well. Both of the bags were in fairly
good shape. What a shame they had never
been used.

Suddenly and idea occurred to me and I grinned. Standing, I placed the two bags on my
bed. Rushing towards the closet I pulled
out my favorite and most comfortable dresses.
Going around my room I gathered whatever necessities that I would
need. With my suitcase fully packed I
grabbed the small satchel, making my way over to the small apothecary cabinet
in my room. Reaching inside I grabbed
the small box in which they rested and put it inside the satchel which now rested
against my hip. Cautiously I reached
into the back, grasping the hand-sized book which rested against the side
panel. Pulling my arm back, I retrieved
it from its hidden location. Gazing
lovingly at the small book, I ran my hands over the golden embroidery on the
brown leather.

Liber Incantamenta

Book of Spells.

Biting my lip I quickly shoved the book inside the
satchel. Against my father’s wishes I
had been learning a few bits of magic.
He had brought the book back from one of his quests, simply as a
collector’s item. What he didn’t know
was that I had stolen it from the large pile of books he had thrown it
into. I had been obsessed with the idea
of magic from the time I was a little girl.
My father would tell me various stories of the magical creatures he had
run into on his adventures. He talked of
witches, both good and bad, who had such great magic that they could turn a man
into a frog, or move things with just the slightest movement of their eyes. I could only dream of performing such acts.

Witchcraft was not common in our land, and hardly in our
world. At some point, long ago, all the
witches which might have existed left, leaving only a few decendents to let us
know of their existence. Of course, this
was after the Great Burn. For some
reason, King Xavier was distrusting of those who practiced magic and sentenced
them all to be burned. A similar
sentence was made for those who were apothecaries, King Xavier claiming it was
simply another form of witchcraft. I
asked my father about it once but he quickly told me to forget such nonsense as
magic. How could I though when I was
surrounded by such mysterious things?

Shaking my head, I latched the satchel shut and checked to
make sure the suitcase was locked as well.
I was just about to grab the bag when I heard the door being rattled
downstairs. My eyes widened as I came to
a realization: the Blue Jays were here.
Quickly I hid the suitcase underneath my bed so that it would not be
discovered. Deciding that the satchel
would be fine if saw, I made sure to push the book to the bottom of the bag so
that it would not be seen if searched. I
rushed to the top the stairs but paused, realizing the amulet was still
visible. Immediately I hid the stone
underneath my dress and hurriedly made my way down the stairs.

Just as I reached the final step the door was blown in. Stepping inside were none other than King
Xavier’s Blue Jays. Their royal blue
jackets faded to white at the tips, so snow white it seemed as if they carried
the heavy winter’s snow around with them all year long. Two jagged black marks, resembling those of a
lightning bolt, crossed to form an X were on the back of their jackets. The elite guard of King Xavier himself.

Fear overcame me in my shocked state. I was not used to their brutality being
placed upon me, but I was not so naïve to not know the force they held upon
others. Forcing their way into the
kitchen, they immediately began to search for what I presumed was the
amulet. Dishes were slammed to the
ground, breaking instantly. They
continued through to the living room, throwing books and papers across the
room, creating a snowfall of parchment.

By then my fear had turned to anger. Who were they to come into my home and
destroy my precious books? To break our
kitchenware? What right did they
have? They were nothing but men who were
given title by a man who didn’t deserve his own. Gritting my teeth, my hands formed fists as
the rage I felt inside.

“What business do you have here?” I questioned, not the
least bit fazed by their threatening glares in my enraged state. One of them, a man whose jacket seemed much
too small for him, steps forward, pointing the end of his dagger at my
nose. His breath smells of the foulest
thing and it takes all I have not to turn my head in disgust.

“Listen here, missy.
We’ll have no back talk from you.
Now you better start telling us where that good for nothing father of
yours hid it.” My face turns into a
grimace and I push the blade aside with the palm of my hand. The action earned me a small nick, causing a
thin line of blood to drip down to my wrist.
The Blue Jay saw the red liquid and smiled in devilish pleasure.

“Why should I answer to you?
You aren’t in charge of this search party.”

It was true. There
was no sign of the usual coat of arms associated with the captains of such a
brigade. The coat of arms on a Blue Jay
usually meant that the man wearing it was, of course, very high in rank, but
also had been considered honorable enough to hold an audience with Lord Xavier
himself. Though the position was
incredibly high in regards to stature, there was one position that held more
power. The sacred silver bird had been
seen only by a few, and worn on even fewer cloaks. The broach was in the shape of a silver blue
jay, the symbol of King Xavier. If one
wore this broach it meant that the wearer was trusted by Xavier himself. Because Xavier was so precautious, and overly
paranoid, only a handful of men bore it.

“Even if you were, I haven’t the slightest idea what you’re
looking for, or why you’ve decided to come here for it of all places.” The words were spoken more shakily than I
would have liked, giving them a glimpse into how nervous I really was. Hopefully it didn’t reveal that every word I
had said was a lie.

Peppermint, the ironic nickname I had decided to give him,
stepped forward again, forcing me to retreat against the wall.

“I said no back talk missy.
Now I won’t hesitate to cut that precious little throat of yours. Then you won’t be able to say anything at all. How about that?” I stared at him simply, hoping the slight
fear I felt at his words wasn’t obvious.
Behind him, the group of seven or so Blue Jays began to laugh.

All except for one.

Although he appeared to be my age, he held a certain power
in the way he stood. That power only
resonated as he spoke to Peppermint.

“Enough Myoran. We
did not come here to threaten the daughter.
We were ordered to retrieve the stone.
Unless you feel up to disobeying mine and Lord Xavier’s orders, I
suggest you and the others go in search of it.”
His voice was smooth but with an edge, almost like the side of a
knife. Black wavy hair laid atop his
head, a few strands hanging limply in front of his eyes, obscuring them from my
view.

Instead of receiving the expected mocking remarks, the men
scurried off in my house, seemingly desperate to get away. Myoran was the last to retreat, nodding
numbly and muttering an apology before treading upstairs, but not without one
last glare in my direction. Sneakily I
stuck my tongue out at him, causing his face to furrow in anger. Smirking, I turned my attention to the young
man in front of me. It was then the
sparkle of a tiny silver bird caught my eye.

“The silver blue jay.” I whispered. Not only had he earned the supposed honor,
but at such a young age as well. It made
me curious: what had he done to be given the broach? As thoughts of burned villages and innocent
people being slaughtered crossed my mind, I was suddenly overcome with fear.

“Yes and I’d appreciate it if you’d stop ogling it.” Immediately my eyes left the broach and went
to peer up at his face. Then they
slanted into a glare as my ears caught up with me.

“I was not ogling it.”
Though in truth I most likely had been.
“I’m simply astonished that someone so young could earn such an
honor. If you could call it that.” I mumbled the last part, hoping he hadn’t
heard.

“Why would it not be an honor?” My eyes widened and my
cheeks burned in embarrassment when I realized I had been heard. Regardless of the red tinge that covered my
cheeks, I did not delay my response.

“Having the silver blue jay simply means you’re trusted by a
heartless man with nothing better to do with his time than to ruin people’s
lives. Earning it only means you’re as
heartless as him.” The words flew out of
my mouth before I could stop them. I had
not meant them to come out that way. It
was never a good idea to insult King Xavier in front of his men, let alone a
Silver Jay. They were fiercely loyal and
went to great lengths to punish those who disagreed.

Before I could form a sentence to lessen the insult, I was
forced against the wall, the stones edging themselves into my back. My feet were slightly lifted off of the
ground and a long silver blade was pressed up against my throat. Breathing became a difficult task and I’m
ashamed to admit it was for reasons other than the blade. The Silver Jay had completely locked me
between him and the wall. I could feel
the pressure of the buttons on his cloak through the fabric of my dress. His face, now only a mere inch from mine,
crept closer with each word.

“If I ever hear those words, or anything similar for that
matter, come from those lips of yours again, I will have no qualms in following
through with Myoran’s threat myself.”
Fear quaked in my eyes where I’m sure it showed. The only decent thing about our position was
that I could now see his eyes. They
shined a deep black in the candlelight, almost as dark as a crow’s wing. No, perhaps more like something else.

“A blue jay.” I
whispered. The words came out on their
own, with no thought before hand. The
boy’s eyes narrowed in curiosity and confusion.

“What do you mean, a blue jay?”

“Your eyes. They’re
dark like a blue jay’s feathers.” It was
his eyes that widened in surprise this time.
Inside them was the appearance what looked like pain. As if my skin, or perhaps my words, had
somehow burned him, the boy jumped away from me, closing his eyes as if in a way
to calm himself down. Before either of
us could utter another word, the heavy footsteps of the other men returned from
upstairs.

“There’s nothing up there Decan. No sign of the man or the amulet.” The voice was Myorans and I shivered at the
thought of the possibility of the scent of his breath remaining in my room
after they left.

Decan, I thought as my gazed turned back to the boy. It fitted him. It had the same qualities of his voice, both
edgy and smooth like a knife. The name
seemed familiar though, as if I had heard it before.

“There’s nothing down here either. Of course, a man as intelligent as Darius
would never think to leave something of such importance where it could be
easily discovered. Tell the guards at
the castle to search him again before he is sent to the dungeons.”

My eyes widened in panic.
Had my father been caught before he could escape? Had he been harmed? Was he alright? Was he injured? These and other questions rushed through my
mind as I stared at the boy name Decan.

Without a though, I rushed forward to grab the collar of the
boy’s jacket, wanting to demand answers.
The other Blue Jays reacted quickly though. I was pulled off of Decan before I could even
mutter a single of the threatening words I had running through my head. My arms were forced behind my back in a tight
hold. I tried not to struggle, but it
was difficult not to squirm in the uncomfortable hold.

Walking towards me with slow steps full of arrogance and the
righteous knowledge that he was in control, that he held all of the power in
the room, was Decan, a beautiful smirk lit upon his face.

“I’ll take that as a no.
That’s too bad. Your attitude
isn’t going to help your father in any way, I hope you realize that.” I glared and jolted forward on instinct, but
was restrained by the arms of the soldiers surrounding me. My actions only increased his smirk.

“What have you done with my father? What has he done to deserve time in the
dungeons?” My voice shook in both anger
and fear. My arms were beginning to ache
from the strong hold placed upon them.

“All that I can tell you is that your father, Darius, has
stolen of great importance to your king, and our lord is very anxious to have
it back within his possession.”

“My father is no thief.”
The words slid smoothly off of my tongue even though I knew the
truth. It surprised me how well I could
suddenly lie.

“On the contrary, he is.”

“What proof do you have that my father stole this item?”

“The fact that your father was the only man who knew of it
besides King Xavier himself. Also that
your father was the man sent to retrieve the item and his confession of
guilt.”

“Why would my father confess to something he did not
do?” I protested though the evidence was
staggering. My mouth became as I
realized that proving my father’s innocence was simply not possible, especially
if he was really being held captive in the dungeons.

“I haven’t the slightest idea. Perhaps you have might know.” Both Decan’s eyes and words were giving me
the subtle order to tell him everything I knew.
Afraid and nervous, I couldn’t hold his stare so my gaze turned towards
the still burning candles. Though I knew
very little, the knowledge I had the amulet was still dangerous.

“Perhaps he wanted to protect someone.” My eyes turned to look into Decan’s. “Or in this case, something.” Decan was now standing in front of me, only a
foot or two away. A sly smile covered
his face at my words.

“Or perhaps it’s both.”
His black eyes glanced down to my side.
My brows furrowed in confusion before I realized the satchel still
rested there. My eyes widened in worry,
realized that all of my apothecary items were inside. Decan seemed to take my surprise as meaning
something else for a smirk appeared on his face.

“Check her bag.
Darius may have left the amulet here yet.”

Following his orders, the two Blue Jays which were
restraining me released my sore arms.
Immediately one of them went for the strap which rested on my shoulder,
pulling it off. In the process they
yanked my long, dark brown hair.
Instinctly I yelped in pain, my hand automatically going to the point on
my scalp that hurt. The Blue Jays
snickered at my reaction, obviously loving the idea of causing me pain.

It had been Myoran that had grabbed my bag. A large Cheshire grin grew on his face as he
peered inside the satchel. I stood there
nervously rubbing at my sore wrists, watching as the smile only widened. Silently I prayed that they would not
discover the book hidden at the bottom.
Myoran glanced at Decan, then back at me.

“You should see this.”
He suggested, handing over the satchel.

Decan peered inside then glanced back up at me. Reaching inside, he pulled out a small bottle
of extract. I gulped nervously as I waited
to be sentenced to death. My eyes did
not move away from the bottle of extract within Decan’s hands. To calm myself I began to list the various
uses for it inside my head.

“Why is it you have apothecary items? This witchcraft was banned years ago.” Biting
my lip, I did everything I could to keep from blurting out the truth. Avoiding his eyes, my gaze stayed on the
small glass bottle.

Decan wouldn’t take silence as an answer though. The boy stepped closer and placed a finger
underneath my chin. Ever so slowly he
raised my gaze to meet his eyes. Again,
the dark black of his pupils enchanted me but I refused to fall into their
abyss for I knew it held nothing but violence.

“Answer me.” His
words were soft but held venom. I gulped
once more but could not look away from his eyes.

“They were my mothers.”
Came my equally soft reply. It
was true. I had inherited the entire
collection from my mother. Father had
been gone again on King Xavier’s request and so I took to the small wooden shed
at the back of our land as a means of keeping busy. While down there I had discovered my mother’s
apothecary cabinet, along with a small book of other roots and plants that
could be used as herbal remedies. I had
long since memorized the entire thing so it had been safely returned to the box
containing the rest of my mother’s items.

“She was hanged with the others.” Were my next words. A small tear escaped my eye but I refused to
show any other emotion. I had shown enough
weakness before these men, I need not show more.

Decan’s eyes became soft as he saw the tear. Surreptitiously he wiped it away, then nodded
as if he understood.

“Were you going to use them?” Was his next question. Silently I shook my head in a lie.

“I like to carry them around as a reminder of her. I haven’t the slightest idea of how to use
them.” Decan nodded once more.

Shoving the extract into the bag, he then handed it over to
me. Cautiously, I reached out a hand to
retrieve the satchel, but my wrist was quickly grabbed. Decan’s hold on my already fragile bones
caused me to wince.

“Make sure you never learn how or otherwise the next time we
meet it won’t end so well.” Decan
threatened. Nodding quickly I grabbed
the leather bag and immediately placed it safely on my shoulder. Decan stared into my eyes before glancing at
his men.

“Let us leave gentleman.
I’m sure she has a lot to think about.”
The Blue Jays snickered but quickly followed the orders of their
commander. One by one they began to file
out of the room, Myoran leaving last as he sent me another nasty grin. I shivered at the thought of every being near
him again.

Decan was the last to leave.
Nervously I rubbed at my wrists again while looking at him. Silently he stared at me, no emotion showing
on his face. Biting my lip, I glanced
away out of intimidation.

Suddenly I felt a hand on my cheek, and a thumb at my
mouth. Immediately my eyes swiveled to
gaze at the mysterious boy in front of me.
Leaning forward, Decan’s face was soon only an inch away. My cheeks became heated and I wanted nothing
more than to look away, but those eyes of his sucked me in once more.

“A blue jay.” I whispered without thinking. The grip on my face tightened for a
millisecond before Decan leaned into my ear.

“You need to stop making such silly comparisons. They end you up in trouble one day.” Decan pulled back, his hand falling back to
his side. “Just like your father.” I
gasped at the cruelty of his words, causing his lips to rise into a smirk. Without another word Decan exited the cabin,
slamming the door shut as he went.

I fell to
the ground. Landing on my knees,
I leaned over onto my hands in hopes to prevent myself from performing a face
plant. Though flat, my hands shook from
the stress and anxiety that was currently running through my body. The day had been a long one. First my father gives me a mysterious amulet
then leaves without a proper explanation.
Then the Blue Jays arrive to destroy the house while searching for it
and inform me that my father is actually in the dungeons of King Xavier’s castle.

A lump grew in my throat at the thought of my father being
tortured. I bent my head forward with
closed eyes in an attempt to calm myself.
My hands formed fists against the stone floor. My hair fell down past my face, causing a
shadow to be cast across my eyes.
Opening them once more, I saw that not only had my hair fallen, but so
had the dreadful amulet. Glaring at the
horrid stone that hung from my neck, I wanted nothing more than to throw it
away and have it disappear.
Unfortunately, I could not disobey my father’s wishes in that way,
especially with the way things were now.
Whether I wanted to be or not, I was stuck with the stone. It was the only bargaining chip I had.

My eyes widened as an idea struck my mind. Slowly a smile began to creep across my
face. I could bargain the amulet for my
father’s return and our safety. Surely
King Xavier would forgive father if I simply said that I had taken it,
mistaking it to be a token of my mother’s.
Perhaps then this entire mess would be forgotten and things could go
back to as they were.

Then another though occurred. Father had entrusted the amulet to me to keep
safe until his return. What would he
think if I disobeyed him? Surely he
would understand my reasoning. At least,
I hope so.

Nodding, I pushed myself back into a standing position. With new found determination, I began to
straighten the small house, thinking of nothing but tomorrow.

For I was going directly into the hornet’s nest: King
Xavier’s castle.

Did you enjoy my ongoing story so far? Please let me know what you think by leaving a review! Thanks,
WritingtheWeird

Xxn00bwriterxX:
This book was written nicely and had me feeling the emotions the characters had felt. I loved how their past was included and how it explained why Felicity and Dominic acted how they did. Worth reading. ♡

Watercolors:
The short story itself is very cute!❤️ I feel so bad for how Stone is treated by people who should be family. He deserves much much more. In all honesty I would’ve taken a bit longer to forgive Karen, even though she had insecurities herself she could’ve at least told him, right? BUT he should’ve...

rimshiza291:
This story plot seems different from what I’ve read on galatea - granted i only read a chapter there but the events are described differently there; like she doesn’t like the clinic and she helps a boy with his knee on her first day among other stuff. Moral of the point: the plots don’t seem the ...